I want to join in, I just noticed this study group today... I have had this deck for a while and I would like to use it more... I also will benefit from studying a deck, as I don't really notice details on the cards yet, on my own.

I notice the peaceful smile on Felix's face. I think that is significant because packing up and moving on can be a very stressful time. There is obviously a lot going into this move, and he just doesn't seem to mind at all.

What I don't understand is if he does use these masks himself or just sells them to others... do you think perhaps he started off needing masks, to cover his mark... and then as time went on he became at peace with himself? So he understands the need for masks, but doesn't need them anymore himself? I looked to see if any at all would fit him... I think they are all too small..

I don't know though. I wonder if we are on the right track. There are many people who struggle with maintaining a double life... is there any significance to the particular mask he is holding? Does he gain his strength and flexibility from a secret... the knowledge he can put on the mask at any time and become a new person?

Firstly, Molly ... yes, yes, join in with us. We are all having a ball with this deck. It seemed such a lonely expedition at first. Maan had already tried to get some study going before, I think. Now, since we have been talking about it more, Freesiaskye, Melvis and Galadrial are on board. Hedera and Rostie as well.

Speaking for myself, I always found the Phantasmagoric facinating but didn't know how to read with it, which after reading her posts, was why I contacted Maan. Now, however, doing the daily draws like this is a lot of fun ... and finally I AM getting to know the characters - we are on first name aquaintance now! It was so hard to memorise the LWB but this has proved very useful as a study method. It might seem to some to be a lot to absorb when you are meeting a new character each day and with some decks I would say it is. With this one however, it seems right for me. It's enough time to read everyones views and short enough that you don't forget the essences of the card when you have moved on to the next one. I have been printing out the threads as we have been going along so that I have a journal of all the thoughts and opinions given to refer to at another time. It's more of a BBB (Big Black Book) than a Little White one.

Jump in with us as we are moving along, but if you want, the threads go back to the 27th so you can pop in those and learn if you want to; you havn't missed much. The one on Tom Tom (The Knight of swords was a particularly interesting one - Freesiaskye gave him a gardening job).

I agree with you about the mask and how Felix doesn't need it anymore. It's like working in a pub and not feeling the need to drink. He seems pretty confident with his 'set up' and looks forward to the move, I think. If Maan does get to interview Graham Cameron then we'll have to get her to ask him about Felix's barcode! Oh yes, and the blob!!!! Ask him about the blob Maan!!!!! You know how obsessed I have gotten with that!!!! Does the blob have a name????!!! Ask him Maan, pleeeeassseee!!!!! Is it Bob the Blob????????

Hope you enjoy this group Molly ... you are most welcome. Look forward to your posts!

I think the most interesting thing about this deck so far is that normally, in fact I can't think of an exception, I know that the cards are talking to me and I know when a card's energy is referring to me and sometimes I feel like I could get along really well with the people in the cards, but I don't see myself in the cards. But in this deck I actually see myself. I was Fizzy, and I was sitting in the desert with my friends in the 3 of Cups and today, in my own draw (3 card), I was in all three cards. I thought, since Graham has given us such a personal deck, that it would be harder to get "into" it, instead, it has become a very personal deck to me. This is way cool and unique and comes as a welcome surprise.
As to fave cards, that is hard to say. For instance, I wouldn't have picked the 5 of Coins, just to look at. But it fit in so perfectly in my reading today that I laughed out loud. I have a feeling a lot of cards that don't mean much now are going to endear themselves to me as I draw them.
I see Felix as using the masks himself, but not in a hiding, I'm afraid to show my true self, way. I was thinking that it would give him the freedom to try out things that he hadn't formerly associtated with himself. Put a scary mask on, and maybe you can suddenly articulate your anger. Put a girl mask on, and maybe you can transcend your conditioning of "guy" behavior. I think our own labels (I'm a tough guy who never loses his temper) can be the most limiting of all, and Felix is commited to attaining a flexible personality that encompases the whole of being human. This, in turn, gives him greater flexibility of what he can manifest (getting back to this being a coins card:-) So, his masks cover the gamut- something for every part of every act on the stage. He can imagine it because he has experienced it within himself. I think you are on to something, though, that the downside to this could be not identifying enough with any fixed role to reap the benefit of longtime associations- the same house, town and friends. Some roles are more fun the longer you're in them; something you don't find out if you're always "moving (on), gotta keep movin' on" (gads, another Tom Petty attack; freesiaskye and I are prone to them) .

Edited to add: I think the blob is a Pooka, so I've given mine an "H" name, a la Harvey: Huddle.

I think Felix is proud of himself, that he is in touch with so many facets of himself, via the masks. As he packs the masks he sees the progress he's made since he was just a drone barcode like all the other barcodes. And he's excited for his next venture, which will bring out even more facets of his nature.

About the blob thingie...am i the only one who considers it female?
BTW the blob is present on some other cards....would that mean something too?

Apparently you are the only one who considers it female Maan. When I see him, he's got a bit of the "lounge lizard' appearance about him, all that falsely hearty bonhomie that doctors exhibit, like when they tell you that you'll never perform "Last Train to Clarksville" again because of those nasty nodes on your throat.

The Blob gets around because he's the doctor, so naturally he has to be on the scene in many instances. He's an onstage kind of guy, and plus he gets to bill more for out-of-office visits. Doctor Burford Boobles takes his responsibilities seriously.

And Yab can call him "Bubba" if he wants--the Doc gave special permission, but his name IS Burford. He told me and I always do what I'm told.

My take on Felix, is that his Mom and Dad were really hoping for a kitten, but instead he was born. So they called him Felix anyway and then had the barcode of a kitten tattooed on his forehead so they could get a lot of laughs from him at the checkout counter and maybe the store wouldn't notice their abysmal credit rating.

When that didn't work, they apprenticed him to a carver at a young age, a nice gentleman who didn't laugh at children and preferred to mentor them and encourage their creative abilities, and that's how Felix got started on learning carving. He went to art college and was given a scholarship to travel around the world researching and creating facsimiles of carved masks from different countries, and while he was doing that he decided to continue on and take a regular university degree in anthropology as well as his art degree.

Now he owns his own business, and remains cheerful and flexible when working on commissions for clients. The Smithsonian bought his entire collection of world masks for a rotating exhibit last year, and they will be looked after and archived for posterity, as will his published thesis on the A-Droit tribe of Papua New Guinea. Felix is always aware of the balance needed in life between humour and seriousness, and remains well grounded despite his success.

He was sad to learn that his parents were electrocuted last year trying to run a barcode scan on each other while in the bath drinking martinis. (This barcode craze really meant a lot to them, they were crazier about barcodes than they ever were about Felix.) So he used his inheritance to start an after school club for children whose parents barcoded them for fun. They are learning calligraphy, collage, and how to make stranded necklaces with round nose pliers and crimp beads. They've already started a co-operative to sell their art and will be using the profits to build a new clubhouse with a machine and woodworking shop. Felix is donating one of his better masks for a silent auction to raise funds for the project.

My blob (Huddle) is a Pooka. A Pooka is (to quote the movie) "From old Celtic mythology, a fairy spirit in animal form, always very large (Harvey is a 6' 5" rabbit). The Pooka appears here and there, now and then, to this one and that one. A benign but mischievous creature very fond of rumpots, crackpots, and..." (the actress is interrupted as she reads the definintion of "Pooka" from a book). He is hanging around with Elwood P. Dowd in the movie, apparently because Dowd used to be a brusque modern man with a get ahead attitude, but is now a laid back tippler with a big heart and scads of friends (albeit not the cream of society). At one point in the movie, Dowd says "I've been smart and I've been kind, and kind is better." In the 10 of Wands, I see Huddle as hanging around with Axle because Axle took on a bit more than he'd imagined; which maybe wasn't smart, but it was kind. I think Huddle may work a little Pooka magic and that in a moment a bunch of folks will come along and grab those flyers and get all excited at the prospect of a circus.

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